Another team in Sevilla as we speak....

Just wanted to let everyone know that Dave Karger and his team have arrived safely in Sevilla, and you can read all about their trip at this other blog that they created just for their team:
http://spainconnections09.blogspot.com/ . It sounds like the first 2 days were rough (with late luggage and a couple of other hurdles), but all is good now, and their "mission" is underway! Check it out!
Carolyn

GRAN DOMINGO EN PARQUE ESTE

September 13: ¡Great Sunday in East Park!
1. Beginning of the first row, after the summer holidays, with the title "implies".
2. Lunch together in East Park.
3. Afternoon of prayer with some very dear friends that come from global X Atlanta.

Greetings to all.

13 de Septiembre: ¡Gran domingo en Parque Este!
1. Comienzo de la primera serie, tras las vacaciones de verano, con el título "Implicado".
2. Almuerzo juntos en Parque Este.
3. Tarde de oración con unos muy queridos amigos de global X que vienen de Atlanta.

Saludos a todos.

Beginning of the new course of the station

Please ask your prayers for the beginning of the new course of the station in East Park.

Por favor, ruego vuestras oraciones para el comienzo del nuevo curso de la Estación en Parque Este.

"La Estación" en la calle

Hoy hemos realizado un programa especial de "La estación" en la calle. Una fiesta de fin de curso para los niños de la Estación y sus amigos con juegos y distintos talleres. Ha sido muy divertido y nuestros vecinos han podido ver de cerca "La Estación" y sus voluntarios.

Thank You/ Gracias

Una vez más, hemos podido disfrutar de una relación muy especial de amor y servicio al Señor en Parque este; para ver a muchos llegar a conocerle y establecer una relación creciente con Él. Hemos visto nuevas caras y hecho nuevos amigos y nuevas relaciones. Julie, Kim, Lisa, Arinn, Shaun y Stephanie. Gracias por dejar todo para venir a ayudarnos. Gracias por vuestro trabajo, cariño y generosidad. Nos sentimos orgullosos de que forméis parte de la Iglesia Parque Este.

Fiesta de clausura del II Campus de inglés

La semana del Campus de inglés ha terminado con una fiesta en la que han venido los participantes, sus familias y amigos. Nuevas caras, nuevos amigos y muchas, muchas risas.

Desde Parque Este, queremos deciros a todos....

Hasta lel ano que viene!! (Until Next Time)

What a great week it has been!! We serve such an amazing God and he has definitely shown Himself to us this week! We were so blessed to spend our time with some incredible people who shine their light for God throughout Sevilla. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!! See you all on Monday!! :)

Que Gran Dios Servimos!

Hola! Wow! It has been a fantastic week here in Sevilla with the people of East Park Church. We finished the camp yesterday and are having our celebration tonight at the church. The "students" from the camp as well as their family are invited to come and share in what they learned this week. We can't believe the week is already over. It has flown by. We had a great time teaching and making new friends.

We have seen God's hand all week. We have had some prayer requests answered and seen God work in big ways. There were a lot more new faces this year from the community than last. What an answer to prayers. Pepe and the members from the church did a wonderful job making relationships with these people, inviting them to church, and getting the word out about East Park Church.

The families of the church have been so gracious in hosting us and having us over to their houses for dinner. Last night was our last house dinner. We went to Pepe and Mari's house and it was fantastic. We have truly enjoyed their hospitality and friendship. We are definitely going to miss the Spanish dinners!!!!

Thank y'all so much for the prayers and support. Continue to pray for East Park Church, the people who came to the church, the seeds that have been planted, the members of the church, and our travels.

We leave tomorrow for Portugal and will be home on Monday.

Once again, gracias and what a great God we serve!!!!

We love y'all!

Hasta pronto!

Stephanie, Shaun, Kim, Lisa, Arinn, and Julie

Solo Dios!

Hola from Espana! Here we are, finished with day 2 of classes. We have had a great time so far and we are all loving the experience. Yesterday, Monday, was a little slow in the morning but picked up full speed for the evening class. We had a total of 35 students for the 7-9 pm class.

A group picture before our first class on Monday morning.

Today was great and we had many more students in the morning. We split up our intermediate group and had Julie and I teaching one group while Arinn and Kim worked with the other. Stephanie worked with the little kids (big surprise) and Shaun with the advanced group.

One of the most incredible things that we have seen on this trip is the love that these people poor out to each other and to us. The members of the church are so sweet and open up their hearts and homes to us. The God that we serve is truly an amazing God. We have all seen that it does not matter what language we speak or what country we are from, God is Great!! He is working in so many amazing ways with East Park Church.

We are blessed to share this week with this extended family!

Out to dinner on Sunday in downtown Sevilla.

We had 15 of us walk around the city and for dinner. What a wonderful evening!

In the coming days please help us and pray for the following areas at East Park Church:

1) That the next steps wou

ld be made clear for those that are attending the English camp.

2) If the door opens, that we can share truth with the students and be a spark that starts an incredible fire for Jesus.

3) Encouragement for Pepe for our presence to be a reminder of the love and support that they have from around the world.

4) That we all will continue to maintain a positive spirit and to keep Jesus at the forefront of our trip.

Things are we are Thankful for, Praises!

1) Our safe journey here and that all of our luggage arrived safely.

2) The positive attitude of all 6 of us and the love and laughter that we share.

3) The attendance has grown each day for our English camp.

4) So many familiar faces from last year are back again this year!

Ciao,

Lisa (Arinn, Stephanie, Shaun, Kim, & Julie)

Here is our chauffeur Shaun!

(He must think he is parking at North Point and not in Spain!)

Este equipo es increíble!!!

Hoy ha sido nuestro primer día de campus. Por la tarde hemos tenido casi cuarenta personas no cristiana!!! Teníamos todo preparado y esperamos la hora de comienzo con expectación. Comenzó a llegar tanta gente que tuvimos que empezar un poco más tarde para saludarles e inscribirles. Todo el equipo daba gracias a Dios en la intimidad de nuestros corazones por tantas caras nuevas. Gracias a Dios por cuarenta nuevas relaciones. Por cuarenta nuevos amigos. Gracias al equipo por estar tan preparado y ser tan creativo, divertido y servicial. Todos estaban encantados!!! Tenemos por delante una gran semana!!

Pepe

We're Here!!! :)

HOLA HOLA!!! Estamos aqui! We are here. After being number 20 in line for take off in Atlanta; then to Philly with a last minute chic-fil-a stop; then to a lay over in Barcelona. We are here! Pepe and Mari were there to pick us up with big smiles! We were also VERY blessed because ALL of our luggage made it there. We immediately went back to Pepi and Mari's home for a quick lunch of sandwiches and chips.

We then went back to the wonderful hotel to shower, and rest for a bit. The hotel is wonderful; clean, modern and quiet. We are in a residential area of Sevilla about 1 mile from the church.

Mari and Pepe picked us up at the hotel and we made our way to the church. The church is amazing! Small yet amazing. Last year there was no air conditioning, but this year there is!! Waumba Land, Up Street, The Attic and 2 other fabulous sitting areas(in case you are not familiar with North Point Ministries) are present to carry on the themes of North Point.

Pepe sat us down and filled us in a bit on the history of the church and the path the Lord has brought him on. Being an Evangelical church in a country that rejects religion and only follows traditions is very difficult, yet his steadfast is amazing! His desire to teach Jesus to the people of his country is inspiring.

After our little talk, we walked around the corner to a local bar(restaurant) and had the most wonderful tapas of stuffed mushrooms(with RANCH), grilled meats, jamon serrano on bread with a garlic tomato sauce, croquettas and of course french fries, that seem to come with every meal. While at dinner, at 10:30pm, the whole town came out and kids were running around having a blast while family members sat and ate dinner. The safeness of Spain is a very cool thing!

Today we woke up and went to see Pepe preach. Wow WOW and WOW! A truly blessed man. He is in the middle of a series called "This is Love." Pepe brought to light Matthew 22 and helped illustrate Christ's love for us. He continued to remind us how we need to love one another like Christ loved us! There were around 40 people at the church service this morning. We then headed off to visit and have lunch at two church members house. Both families went out of their way to make us feel welcome and loved!

Next adventure : SEVILLA!!! we are off to tour the city!

Much love to all

Kim (and Julie, Shaun, Stephanie, Lisa and Arinn)

A Espana Vamos!

Well, we are off on Friday to head to Sevilla for English Camp II. Stephanie Johnston and I will be returning to Sevilla after a great trip last year, and we have 4 new, fabulous people going with us. We are very excited to see what God has planned and how he is going to work. We know he has a great plan. There are about 20 non-Christians from the community who have signed up for the camp!!! Please pray that we, as well as the church members can plant a seed with these people and they come to understand God's love, grace, and peace.

We would like to thank y'all for your support and prayers while we have been preparing for the trip. God has once again been so faithful and we have raised more than enough money for this trip. What a great God we serve!

We will be updating the blog while we are over there, so please check it out and see what great things God is doing for the lovely country of Espana!!!

We love you all!
Stephanie, Kim, Arinn, Shaun, Lisa, Julie

Noticias desde Sevilla

Saludos a todos desde Sevilla,

Primero, queremos dar gracias a todos por lo que hacéis por España y para que las iglesias en Vilanova y en Sevilla puedan ser atractivas y relevantes para las personas a las que no les interesa la iglesia, tal como la han conocido hasta aquí.

En segundo lugar, queremos pedir vuestras oraciones porque en estos momentos un equipo de global x está saliendo de Atlanta para Sevilla para realizar nuestro II Campus de inglés. Este es uno de nuestros eventos pensados para crear nuevas relaciones con las personas que viven en el barrio donde está la iglesia. Muchos nos visitan para informarse y están interesados.

Por favor, pedimos oración:

1. Para un vuelo seguro del equipo.

2. Por un tiempo muy especial de comunión y de risas entre el equipo y la iglesia.

3. Por la ayuda del Señor para que se creen nuevas relaciones.

4. Que podamos conectar con la gente del barrio y se den los primeros pasos en el camino hacia una relación con Jesús.

Estaremos actualizando las noticias de todo lo que Dios esté haciendo en esta semana.

Gracias por formar parte de Parque Este.

Saludos a todos,

Pepe

Thank you!!

Hey everyone!
I haven't had the chance to post or even to read this blog since the team left almost two weeks ago (wow, time goes fast!), but better late than never!!
I just wanted to say thank you again to Carolyn, Mozelle, Brandi, Steve, Gail, Renee, Jamey, Bobby and Alan for the wonderful time you spent with us. I really appreciate all the materials and training you left with us (especially the spiritual gifts booklets), and I think that the week you were here was a very significant one for us as a church. It was great to get to know you all and to spend time with you in fellowship. I hope I get to see you guys again soon - either here or in Atlanta!!
Much love,
Sarah

Pix from our trip

Here are "highlights" from our trip (hope this works)!

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=607864015/a=4776916_4776916/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Carolyn

While recovering from the jet lag of the return trip from Spain, I have been reflecting on how marvelous God is in allowing me to be a part of a team He ordained to carry His work and word to other parts of the world. This trip was my second to Vilanova/Sitges to work with the wonderful members of ICG. They have been like sponges, soaking up methods to grow and improve, and I have seen tremendous progress just from October 2008 to now. The willingness to try new things, even though it may seem to be contrary to their culture has been nothing short of amazing -- true "coninciGods" have abounded. Each member of this team had specific gifts and/or talents that were used in so many amazing ways. Each of us was approached by members of ICG during the week and on the retreat for discussions and questions. Every event, excursion, meal, and meeting included some level of discussion and prayer with ICG members. They gladly shared their country, heritage, and culture with us. The biggest change I witnessed was the willingness to openly share troubles and concerns, requesting prayer for trials they are facing, and to receive God's plan for their lives.
There are truly too many highlights to list, for fear of forgetting one or putting one in front of the other. Each and every day presented opportunities to serve and help. I also learned something every day from the people there.
One personal highlight, non-ICG related: During the trip to Barcelona in October 2008 for the prayer walk led by Loles, I encountered an older gentleman in a square, painting delicate and detailed scenes. I often lamented the fact I had not purchased one of those paintings and expressed hope to Loles and Samuel during this trip that I might encounter him again and this time to bring home a painting or two. After going into the Barcelona Cathedral for prayer, we were on a small, narrow street and began walking to our next station when I looked up and saw the man walking toward us!! I stopped him and got Samuel to translate for me to tell this story. He led us back to his square where many of the team bought paintings from him and learned he is 86 years old, and has been painting in this same spot for over 25 years. I will frame and mount these paintings, along with a marvelous photograph of him, to help me remember one portion of our trip.
The willingness of Samuel and Carmelo to spend time with us after just experiencing personal losses in the deaths of a close friend and a mother, were acts of such selflessness almost beyond my comprehension. They allowed us to share with them and to share with us of themselves.
I pray God will allow me to go back at some point to share and learn more with these wonderful people of His.
In Christ,
Bobby

We're Back!

Well, we're back and doing our best to recover from jet lag and colds! Since we didn't get as much time or internet access as we hoped while we were in Spain, the rest of our team will take time to update all of you in the next few days. Here are my personal favorite moments from our trip....

1. Mozelle's talk to the church the Sunday we got there (see picture above). Though uncomfortable in many ways (due to how open and honest she was about tough times in her life), God really used her to touch several people's lives in their church who also had been through hard things in their lives and never shared that with anyone.

2. The pregnancies and babies all around us! Brandi (on our team) is pregnant, and so is Eva (from their church in Spain), as you can tell by the picture above, but also there were some little ones who really touched all of us and made us smile and laugh all week (Julia, Carolina, Llibert, Noa, Oriol, Isaac, David and more!).

3. "Family Style Dinners" at their homes.... always brought great food and fun conversations, and it's a way of eating that we all should practice at home too!

4. Our debrief in Montserrat.... we were above the clouds, surrounded by God's beauty high in the mountains, as we had our final debrief as a team, with Samuel, Sandra and Julia with us most of the time (and Eugenio and Laura later in the day), and it was very special to hear the team's favorite moments, challenges, successes etc. from the week.

5. Starting Point and Small Group training (Tues. and Thurs. nights)...both went very well and we got good feedback from them as well. It seems that they learned a lot of new ideas that they didn't know before (esp. with SG that they never had before).

6. The retreat with their church (in Pineda del Mar).... our team was honored to get to accompany ICG on their first church retreat! The weekend centered around "praying" (specifically breaking up the "Lord's Prayer"), and our team was in charge of games/ activities, which included a fun "Amazing Race" game. My favorite moment was Saturday night, when we had "open mic" night. Several people from our team (me included) and a lot from their church in Spain, got up and really poured their hearts out on the microphone that night, and it was amazing! That was the night I cried a LOT bc/ of everything said. The weekend ended with Jamey (on our team) giving a great concluding talk on "The Lord's Prayer"!

7. Visiting Tarragona with Carmello, Loli and Merce.... I had never been before, and it was one of the prettiest cities I'd ever seen! Carmello grew up there, so he was very proud to show it off to us and give us a tour. My favorite site was the memorial/ amphitheatre area where many Christians were killed years ago, and now, that part is shaped like a cross (see picture above). We all stopped to reflect on what that must have been like for those who were killed for what they believed in. The day there ended with an amazing lunch at La Grotta (inside a stone cave).

8. Conversations that I had with people like Sara Ais, Tamar, David, Samuel/Sandra etc.... There were also new folks I had never met before, like Patricia, Lee and others, who I loved meeting this time too.

9. Our service project on Tuesday (in Sitges)...where we successfully collected tons of food and perishables for the Food Bank there that feeds 120 families! We were all amazed at how many people in the community participated, and we made it in the local paper too!

10. Overall, the week was amazing and just seeing how much their church (ICG) has grown in the past 3 years, is proof that God is using everyone there to be His hands and feet in Spain! It was so encouraging to hear how their small groups are growing and learning, and also to walk into their church that first Sunday morning that we were there, and see many new faces!

I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to serve these people in Sitges/Vilanova who have become like a 2nd family to me...for a 3rd time! I want to thank all of our friends/family for supporting us through prayer and finances; my incredible team for pulling together and working so hard all week to serve them too; and all of you at ICG for your hospitality, generosity, opening your homes to us, loving us and spending so much time with us! You have blessed us more than you can ever know!

Muchos Bessos!

Carolyn

retreating

We arrived at the retreat location around 6 pm last night and set up for the reception. Church members arrived later in the evening and we were off to dinner. The focus of last night´s activities was just to get everyone loosened up and to learn a little about one another. Our retreat team had some fun activities prepared and we had great fun playing games and getting to know one another better! We are staying in a small boutique hotel and we pretty much have the place to ourselves. Good thing, because the games and fellowship went late and proved to be a hit! Who knew Scattagories in Spanish could get so competitive!?!

Currently, almost every church member is working thru a spiritual gifts test we brought and we´ll be discussing the results of those shortly before lunch and some free time. Then the remainder of our sessions together will be focusing on prayer. Can´t wait! Its amazing how short a time we´ve known these people and how easy they are to fall in love with. God has been quick to bind our hearts together. Thank you all for your prayers, comments and encouragement. Hope to get some photos up later today.

Recap from Thursday

Posted by Steve Roach:

We had a wonderful day spending more time with our friends here in Sitges and Vilanova. We spent a few hours bonding while painting the church´s childrens room and kitchen. Both were in need of a new look at fresh coat of paint. Our team really put hard work into the project and our friends from Spain were very appreciative and loved the refreshed look. We then joined them for some tasty local seafood paella at a local restaurant. We spent time picking their brains about how many of their current church programs are doing.

Later last night we met back at the church along with 15 members of the church for Starting Point training led by Renee, Mozelle and Jamey. Starting Point is a program that we use at Buckhead Church in Atlanta to provide a great beginning baseline for people interested in getting involved with church. It is normally a small group of about 10-15 people that meets weekly to discuss topics about religision and faith at a high level. Our teammates did an outstanding job during the training and the church members are very excited about implementing this program. We received great feedback and they let us know that this program has been something they have been wanting to implement. We also left them 50 starting point packets which include workbooks and CDs in Spanish to get them started which were provided thanks to your support.

It was another day filled with great activities and we are all loving the people, food and our felowship in Spain.

post by Brandi Booker:

Hola Friends and family!

Today we accomplished great things. We worked with Group 514 (the community service group for the church) to collect food for the Caritas Food Bank in Sitges. We were amazed at how generous the community is here!!! Many people chose to donate items from the list we passed out and we were able to deliver over seven grocery carts full of non-perishables to the food bank. This food bank serves over 120 families a week in the local area.

Tonight we had dinner and small group training at the church. Nine people came from ICG and it lasted for threeeeeee hours due to great discussion (and lengthy translations :)) They are doing a great job in their current small groups and are very excited about growing this environment. While several members of our team led the training, the others were painting and making preparations for our retreat this weekend!

Can't wait till tomorrow!

Recap from Sunday

Post by Mozelle Pittman:
I was asked to speak to the church this past Sunday. They had a video from Rob Bell called "Rain". Go to YouTube to listen to it. It is an amazing video. It talks of how it always rains in our lives. It is not a possibility but a fact... it will rain. I got to speak after that video for the service and share how God has been with me through my life. It was an wonderful experience that allowed me to be open my heart and let the world see how much God has touch and changed my life. To be asked to do that was such an honor and I could not think of a better way to start my trip off. I have to admit... I almost passed out from my nerves before I went up... then slipped on the floor walking to the front. I guess that was God's way of putting a smile on my face instead of the tears I had in my eyes : )

Now it is Monday night and we are meeting with the executive team to discuss different visions for the church. We can't believe we are here and able to be part of building God's kingdom. We want to thank each and every one of you for assisting us in being here and also praying for our team while we are here.

We do not have a lot of access to the internet but will update as much as possible.

P.S. Thank you for the emails and letters that you sent before we left. We receive a few each day! I was so shocked and surprised that I could not stop smiling / crying as I read them. I will get more daily and can't wait to hear more of your thoughts !!!!!!!! I love all of you from the bottom of my heart! MOZELLE : )

Pepe and Mari visit Atlanta!

A few weeks ago, some of us had the pleasure of seeing Pepe and Mari (from our partner church in Sevilla), who were in Atlanta for a wedding! Unfortunately their stay here was very short, but we had fun catching up with them nevertheless.

As one of the few people who have NOT been to Sevilla on a mission trip yet, I didn't know Pepe and Mari well, so I took the chance to have dinner with them one night while they were here, along with several others who had been on trips to Sevilla before. All I can say is WOW! God has gifted Pepe with an amazing ability to communicate God's word to his church in Sevilla (and anyone he comes across), and even more than that, Pepe and Mari both are filled with kindness and passion for spreading the Gospel in Spain! It's all over their faces and on their tongues!

Sweet Julie Allen, who we all know is a gifted communicator (and fluent in Spanish) herself, interpreted the whole time I talked with Pepe at dinner, but I think we both understood each other well and one thing we have in common is our passion for Spain and excitement for what God is doing there! One day I hope to get to Sevilla and see what God is doing at their church in PERSON. In the meantime, I thank God that I get to also see the amazing things God is doing at the small church in Sitges and through the hearts of the people there as well. God is GOOD!

Here are more pictures from their visit: http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=412520015/a=4776916_4776916/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

(if the link doesn't work, try taking out the "http://" or just check it out on my facebook page!)

Pepe and Mari... I am praying for you and your church!

Love, Carolyn

----------------------------------------------------

(Here is my attempt to translate into spanish through yahoo.... ):

¡Hace algunas semanas, algunos de nosotros tenían el placer de ver Pepe y a Mari (de nuestra iglesia del socio en Sevilla), que estaban en Atlanta para una boda! Desafortunadamente su estancia aquí era muy corta, pero nos divertíamos el alcanzar ellos sin embargo.

Como uno de la poca gente que no ha estado a Sevilla en un viaje de la misión todavía, I didn' t conoce a Pepe y a Mari bien, así que tomé la ocasión de cenar con ellos una noche mientras que estaban aquí, junto con varios otras que habían estado en viajes a Sevilla antes. ¡Todo lo que puedo decir está GUAU! Dios tiene Pepe dotado con una capacidad asombrosa de comunicar God' ¡la palabra de s a su iglesia en Sevilla (y cualquier persona que él parece), y aún más que ese, Pepe y Mari ambos se llena de amabilidad y de la pasión para separar el evangelio en España! It' ¡s por todas partes sus caras y en sus lengüetas! ¡Julia dulce Allen, que todos sabemos es un comunicador dotado (y fluida en español) ella misma, interpretó el todo el tiempo que hablé con Pepe en la cena, pero pienso nos entendíamos que cosa bien y una tenemos en campo común es nuestra pasión para España y el entusiasmo para qué dios está haciendo allí! Una esperanza del día I de llegar a Sevilla y de ver lo que está haciendo dios en su iglesia personalmente. Mientras tanto, agradezco a dios que consiga también ver que dios asombroso de las cosas está haciendo en la pequeña iglesia en Sitges y a través de los corazones de la gente allí también. ¡Dios es BUENO!

Aquí están más cuadros de su visita:

Pepe y Mari… ¡Estoy rogando para usted y su iglesia!

Amor, Carolyn

16 days and counting!

AMIGOS!

Our team of 9 leaves for Vilanova/ Sitges in 16 days (May 15), and we couldn't be more excited! We just had our team retreat at Lake Lanier two weeks ago, and had an amazing weekend of fellowship, prayer and planning for our trip. We also celebrated Brandi and Mozelle's birthdays that weekend! Here are more pictures from that:
www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=432855015/a=4776916_4776916/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
(and above is a picture of everyone except me, Carolyn, but you know what I look like).

Now, let me briefly introduce you to this incredible team:

Brandi and Steve are married and just found out that they are having a baby BOY in October! They feel very blessed and ask for prayers for a healthy pregnancy. Brandi is on the "Encouragement Team" for our trip, and Steve is our faithful "FINANCE" manager for our trip, which we all know is a HARD job. He's so good at it though! This will be their first mission trip to Spain (though Steve has been to Spain before and knows a little Spanish himself).

Renee Crosby is the "Queen" of Starting Point and Small groups, as she has led several of them through Buckhead Church. She's a great leader, talented in most anything she puts her mind to, and she's creative on top of that! Wait until you see the amazing "rice jars" that she's made to encourage people to pray for Spain (that's all I will tell you for now). This will be her first mission trip to Spain!

Bobby Garrett is our "apprentice" on the trip (meaning he wants to learn more about leading a trip to Spain in case he can do that in the future). He's the oldest on our team, but we would probably all say he's the "wisest", as he has an amazing story, which includes a "secret service" background! This is his 2nd mission trip to Spain (he came with David Walker's team last October).

Jamey Gibson is in his 30's and part of our "Ministry Team". God has really gifted him with the skills of Biblical Wisdom and "sheperding", and he and Alan have been leading our devotions and "worship time" during our retreat and each meeting. I (Carolyn) had the pleasure of going on my first overseas mission trip to Romania with Jamey about four years ago, but this is his FIRST mission trip to Spain!

Gail Turk is our very own Spanish "guru". She lived in Spain for several years and knows the language fluently, so we have been relying on her to teach US some words and phrases in Spanish! Don't expect too much of us, but we do know a little more now, thanks to her. She's also a flight attendant for Delta, so while this will be her first mission trip to Vilanova, she has been there once before on a layover and met some of you briefly. She also has been on one mission trip to Sevilla last year!

Alan Boyd is also on our "ministry team" (with Jamey) and has been helping to prepare us for this trip through his gifted devotions and prayers. He works for a roofing company in Atlanta and has a construction background, so if you need a "handy man" while we're there, HE is your guy! I have the pleasure serving with Alan on the "host team" at church on Sundays as well. He's our "Captain"! This will be his first mission trip to Spain.

Mozelle Pittman is going to be our "communicator" at your church on Sunday, May 17! She has an amazing story of how God has brought her through some hard times and back, and I felt like she was the one God would want to talk to you that Sunday. So voila! I also have the pleasure of being in a new small group bible study (called "BLC") with Mozelle every Tuesday night! This is her first mission trip to Spain.

Finally, there's Carolyn (me), and God has chosen me to be the "leader" on this trip again, which I feel blessed and humbled to do. This is my 2nd time leading a trip to your beautiful town, but the 3rd time coming on a trip there, and I wish I could explain how excited I am! There are no words though. All of you are like family to me! I know God has gone before us and prepared our way, and HE is the ultimate leader for this trip, so I am not worried in any way, but just very ready to be there!

So there you have it! We all are so encouraged by what God is doing in your country, and we can't wait to be a part of it in a few weeks. We will be doing a little bit of everything with you, from Starting Point and Small Group training, to a church retreat with all of you, to lots of prayer and hopefully some encouragement too!

By the way, congratulations to Eva and Isma (our friends in Vilanova) who are pregnant and due in September! They find out on May 20 (while we're there) if they're having a boy or girl! Please pray for their pregnancy as well. AND congrats to Alvaro and Raquel, who are celebrating their 10 year wedding anniversary! WOW!

Muchos Bessos y abrazos!
"Carolina" and team

Sevilla English Camp Team hits the course!

As a short term mission team, we are fortunate to be provided with one team building experience prior to leaving the country. This past weekend we drove up to Berry College, home of the beautiful Winshape Wilderness course. There, we were led through great discussion by a couple well-versed in team dynamics and personality profiles. We learned that we have a well-rounded, multi-talented group of people packed into our small team! All morning we discussed the DISC profile assessment and had verbal and practical application of how we will work together while we are in Sevilla. Then after a delicious Chick-fil-A lunch, we headed over to scale a 35 foot telephone pole. There was a ladder propped against it, and you would climb the ladder then the pole(which was not stable), and then stand on a tiny little piece of wood at the top before leaping off and trying to touch a cone. It was intense. I am proud to say our entire team scaled the pole! What a brave group!!! Our team had already bonded really well, but this weekend just confirmed how wonderfully blessed we are to be serving alongside each other and helped build even deeper relationships. Some of the highlights of the day were digging into each others unique gifting, solving a really difficult puzzle relying on communication and identifying a pattern, and braving the soaring heights of a wobbly telephone pole!

All in all, it was a wonderful day. We are thankful God has provided this opportunity to serve, and we pray that He uses all of our work for our dear friends in Sevilla for His glory! We are less than 2 months away. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Julie, Kim, Lisa, Arinn, Shaun, and Steph

Meet the Team - Sevilla English Camp

This June we will be heading to Sevilla to hold the second english camp at East Park Community Church. The team is SO excited to see everyone in the church and invest in their community. Please pray for our team as we continue to raise the support we need for the trip, prepare the lesson plans, and head off for our team retreat in April.

Here's a picture from our last team meeting... pictured from l-r are: Lisa, Stephanie, Shaun, Julie, Kim, and Arinn.

Introducing...the next team to come to Vilanova!

HOLA AMIGOS!

Here we are! Fresh off of our third team meeting. I finally got everyone together for a group picture so you can meet the next team coming from Atlanta May 15-26. We are 9 people strong...some coming to Spain for the first time and others having been before, but we all felt like God was calling us to be a part of His "bigger plan" in your country, so we can't wait to step foot over there in May!

This blog will be short, but I wanted to introduce everyone (from left to right, sitting down first):

• Brandi Booker (married to Steve, behind her)
• Alan Boyd (in red)
• Mozelle Pittman
• Bobby Garrett
• Steve Roach (Brandi's husband...top left, 2nd row)
• Gail Turk
• Renee Crosby
• Jamey Gibson
• Carolyn Norton (ME)

We are still getting to know each other, and we haven't told our "testimonies" yet, but we all have our "roles" for the team meetings and our trip over there, which include:

1. Ministry Team (Alan and Jamey): to do devotionals at each meeting and while in Spain
2. Service Team (Mozelle): to help with any service project we may do in Spain
3. Cultural "Expert" (Gail): to teach us some basics in the Spanish language and culture (she's fluent!)
4. Financial team (Bobby and Steve): to keep track of the money we raise, our budget etc.
5. Encouragement Team (Renee and Brandi): to keep us all feeling encouraged and energized while we're over there

And I, Carolyn, have been called to lead this team (2nd time leading a team to Vilanova, and 3rd time going on a team there)! Bobby is going to "apprentice" so he can learn more about leading a trip there too one day.

So that's us "in a nutshell" (as we say in America)! There will be more to come, but for now, know that you are all in our prayers, and we can't wait to see you and share more with you in May!

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!

Hasta Luego!

Carolina (and team)

Eugenio in Atlanta!

It's been a long time since we have posted a blog here from Atlanta, so I figured it was time to do that since we've had a special guest in town. Eugenio has been here from Vilanova, and this week, we finally got a chance to see him! Randy and Crista Walton invited some of our mission teams to their home for dinner last night (Thursday) so that we could spend some time with him. We had yummy fajitas, though Eugenio says "You always feed me mexican food when I come here, and I'm not MEXICAN!" (we do know that, we just love mexican food). (:

Anyway, it was a fun night of seeing old and new faces.... faces from old trips like: Besty (who is now pregnant with a BOY due in May), Cara, Melanie, David Walker, Jill Hansen and me (Carolyn); as well as some new faces who will be coming on my trip to Vilanova in May (Alan Boyd, Mozelle Pittman and Renee Crosby). Also in attendance were: Brad (Betsy's husband), Randy and Crista Walton (and their girls), Paul and Barbara Hanock, Eugenio (our guest of honor) and also our new Spain friend Mario (from Madrid! He's in David Walker's fusion group and goes to Buckhead Church with us now!).

After a nice dinner together, Randy gathered us all around and we talked about the progress at Iglesia Christiana del Garraf (Eugenio's church in Vilanova, that we have visited), as well as what still needs to be done (mainly finishing the new building). We also talked about AFCI (Ambassadors for Christ International), and the amazing things that are going on around the world through their missionaries. Let's just say that GOD WAS IN DA HOUSE! (: We are so proud of all that you're doing over there! Keep up the great work!

The next blog you see from me (Carolyn) will be to introduce my new team coming to Vilanova May 15-26. We have 9 amazing team members that I can't wait for you all to meet! They include:

• Brandi and Steve (married couple; first time coming to spain)
• Bobby Garrett (who came on David's trip in October)
• Gail Turk (who has been to Sevilla trip and met some of you in Vilanova on a short layover; she is a flight attendant)
• Renee Crosby (first time coming to Spain)
• Mozelle Pittman (first time coming....)
• Alan Boyd (first time coming...)
• Jamey Gibson (first time coming...)
• CAROLYN! (this will be my third trip there!)

We'll update you with more soon, but we are so excited to hear more about what the Lord is doing through you (and for some of us to come SEE it for ourselves very soon)! Here are more pictures from Eugenio's visit:

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=264756865/a=4776916_4776916/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Te Amo!

Carolyn

Breaking attendance records!!!

Great news from Vilanova!!!
Great news from the Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf!!!

Follow the link.

ICG's new series and work session

January 25th. You have a new message
Next sunday, Eugenio Berruezo is going to preech about the messages we daily receive and how much we pay attention to them.

This is the promotional video:

Tiene 1 mensaje nuevo from icg on Vimeo.

Work session in Sitges
Because we want our facilities to be the best we can, this saturday, we’re going to have a work session in our building in Sitges.

Also we’re going to set up the auditorium with the new 15 chairs we bought just to fit all the people coming.

We’re going to have a good time working and laughing.

You’ll see pictures of that!

Stay tuned.

You can find both news in our new blog just for our friends in the States to know what's going on and what's coming up in the Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf.

Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf has his own blog!!!

Hey everyone!
We just want to let you guys know about our new blog just for our friends in the United States.
This is where you'll find everything about us, all our activities, our news, i mean, everything going on and coming up.


If you want to know everything about us, you just need to go to:
blogusa.iglesiadelgarraf.com

Feel free to leave your comments, you just need to register and type. :D

See you there!

PS: It doesn't mean we're no longer posting here but that's going to be our main information site.